Ken Kocienda, former principal software engineer at Apple, discusses the release of the Safari web browser and its speed relative to Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Insight
Touchscreen UI Software Must Interpret Intent Rather Than Literal Inputs
“Because you didn't get this tactile feedback, because you couldn't feel the edges of either keyboard keys, or any button, or anything in the user interface, is that the software had to be there working behind the scenes to give you what you meant, maybe differ…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Apple Omitted Copy and Paste From First iPhone Due to Time Constraints
“And so we knew that we wanted cut, copy, paste, but we knew that there was simply not going to be time for it. So we didn't spend any real development effort on it.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Steve Jobs Asked Individual Contributors Directly for Key Product Choices
“He doesn't ask, you know, Scott Forstall, who is, you know, he knows much better. He doesn't ask, you know, any of the other people in the room. He asks me, the individual contributor, you know, just coming in, but I'm the DRI. You see, that's the thing. He wa…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Steve Jobs Sided With Ken Kocienda Over Scott Forstall on iOS Gestures
“And so and it also just goes to show that there could be disputes, even up at the highest level. Scott knew that I was very excited about this feature and wanted to show Steve, so he let me. And Steve was the one who had the final vote, and he sided with me, a…”
Insight
Apple Insists on Controlling All Core User Experience Technology
“And so the, you know, the vision for Apple back then, and even still today, Is that Apple wants to be in control of what it considers to be critical technology. It's critical to its user experience.”
Insight
Preventing Code Speed Regressions Guarantees Software Performance Improves Over Time
“Ok team, if we check in code, and it doesn't make any speed regression, only two things can happen. Either the code will remain the same speed, or it'll get faster.”